Money talks. Despite the lack of monetization opportunities for Alexa skill developers, Amazon knows the best way to incentivize developers to create engaging skills is cash. The company has launched a few new contests lately, like the Alexa Skills Challenge for Kids and the second annual Alexa Prize competition. And last week, Amazon announced a new contest, the Alexa Skills Challenge: Life Hacks. The $25,000 first prize will go to the team or person who creates the most useful Alexa skill to streamline and improve everyday tasks. In addition to the grand prize, 10 finalists will receive $5,000 and there are six bonus prizes that will be awarded for additional categories like the best skill designed by high school students or the best work-from-home hack.

Improving Daily User Engagement on Alexa

The subtext is that Amazon wants to increase the daily engagement of Alexa users. According to the Voicebot Smart Speaker Consumer Adoption report, only a little over half of smart speaker owners claim to use their device daily, and only 12.7% use it more than six times per day. The Alexa Life Hack Challenge can only help to improve this by creating engaging skills for everyday use. The Voicebot report also found that the most frequent use cases of smart speakers are those that are needed on a daily basis, like listening to a music service, checking the weather or setting a timer. Checking traffic was surprisingly low at 7.7%, considering most people commute on a daily basis. But that is also why Amazon is also awarding a bonus prize to the best updated life hack skill, chosen from existing skills updated during the contest period. So if you have created an Alexa skill that could use improvement, now is the time with $5,000 at stake. The contest ends April 30th and for those interested, you can apply here.